Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Trust Khosa
2 February 2008
Harare — Sungura giant Alick Macheso discovered last weekend that organising shows is not an easy job. He has, however, declared that the problems encountered would not deter him from staging his own shows this year.
Macheso's Cheso Power Promotions last weekend organised shows at the Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex, Club Lashers in Budiriro and Sports Diner. Everything about Macheso's opening shows was uninspiring with the Chitungwiza affair being the worst organised for the sungura artiste by his standards.
Planning boobs, late kick-off and exorbitant an cover charge of $10 million appeared to have scared away many revellers as well as killing the appeal of the show for those that attended.
But Macheso's manager and most trusted lieutenant, William Tsandukwa, declared that his boss still want to take the risk of organising own shows.
"We are not going back with our own shows this year. We might have blundered here and there but we can still learn from those mistakes.
"In fact, it was the first show which was difficult for us but from today onwards, we are not looking back at all," declared Tsandukwa.
The Orchestra Mberikwazvo management -- on record for having accused some promoters of overcharging fans -- were this time caught on the wrong side. Tsandukwa was, however, quick to defend the $10 million entry fee they charged at their shows saying they needed to cover up for costs they incurred.
"People who paid for our shows did not complain about the entry fees we charged and I don't see any problems with that. "The prize hike on gate charges was caused by the preparation costs we incurred and for that venue alone, we paid $700 million in addition to the $2 billion we paid for the television adverts among other costs.
"Of course, it was not rosy organising that show but we will still carry on as we have done before," he said. Macheso's show at the Sport Diner did not go well with some fans on Sunday night. The show kicked off late, which left some asking as to why the organisers had done that considering that Monday was a working day.
Usually, Sunday shows are staged in the afternoon but Tsandukwa again defended the arrangement. "I know people will ask why the Sunday show kicked off late and the answer is very simple -- it was not a family show as perceived by many. "In fact, it was like any of our shows and it ended at 5 am (Monday morning) because the crowd was still there and we could not leave our fans starved when they were still asking for more," he explained.
Performance wise, Macheso was not in his usual best at some opening shows with the Chitungwiza affair being the worst. Even Macheso was not at his usual best and dancers too had a bad day in office. It appears age has caught up with some dancers while others appear to have grown bigger heads.
Even the choice of supporting acts he chose did not raise the tempo of the show. Kapfupi's act was more of a theatrical performance than a musical while New Black Montana's biggest letdown was being slotted in as the closing acts when some people had left the venue. It was also unpleasant to see some of Macheso's dancers trebling as waiters, security personnel and cashiers at some points.
One could easily tell that something was wrong and that's where Macheso need to work on if he is to last a distance, Orchestra Mberikwazvo fans say.
Tsandukwa has also recruited four new members to beef up the band and the total number stands at 27.
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